Curious
by julietsaysyes
Summary: A request of sorts... Hope you guys like it. Critique is very much welcomed, so don't be shy. :3
1. Chapter 1

**I.**

Free period was what Harry had been waiting for. He would get the chance to see Ginny and Ron and Hermione, since they all had free period together. He mostly wanted to see Ginny, though; she always smelled flowery and her hair was always shiny and soft. He had thought about asking her if she would go out with him, maybe to Hogsmeade, or maybe he would get her alone so he could walk with her around the lake, and slip his hand into hers, and then things would take off from there. But he was too nervous. She had, after all, just gotten over Dean Thomas, which he was happy about-but Ginny wasn't so happy. Lately she had taken to moping around all day, and he was almost afraid that today during free period she would be moping instead of laughing and playing around with everyone else. Harry pushed those thoughts to the side, though, and made his way through the crowded halls towards the Gryffindor common room, his spirits lifting when he saw Ron and Hermione waiting for him.

"Hey," Harry said, dropping his bags by a chair in front of the fireplace. He glanced out the window; snow was falling lightly onto the ground, which was already covered in a fresh blanket of snow. "What's up?"

Ron just shrugged, reaching for some chips he'd stolen from the cafeteria. Hermione fluttered around, unable to stand still. "I've got so much work to do," she said, "and you probably do, too, guys. I color-coded your schedules a couple weeks ago, what happened to that? You should be doing work now, I planned work for free period..." She trailed off, trying to tuck her wild hair behind her ear, but it would just spring back in her face again.

"Hermione," Ron complained, "it's _free period_. Meaning, I don't have to do work." Harry nodded in agreement. Hermione looked furious.

"No, you guys. We've _got _to pass our exams if we want to pass this year! This is an important year, I mean, next year we'll be in seventh year and if we don't pass the OWLs, we're screwed."

"We'll do some work later tonight, okay? Promise," said Harry, noncommittally. He just wanted to pacify them before their bickering got to real arguing. "Let's go outside now," he said. "We can have a snowball fight or something."

Ron nodded. "Yeah. If only Fred and George were here, they'd be on my team."

Hermione's eyes darted back and forth between Ron and Harry. "Well, okay," she said reluctantly. "But you _have _to do some work tonight."

"Yeah, we promise," said Ron and Harry unison.

"Hey, where's Ginny?" Harry said, looking around.

"Oh, she went to the library. She'll be back soon." Hermione put some papers in her bag and began to organize her things. "Why don't I ask if she wants to come outside with us when she gets back?"

Harry nodded and smiled a little. "Yeah," he said, a little too enthusiastically. Ron shot him a weird glance.

When Ginny came back, they all put their coats and hats on and traipsed outside into the snow, which was just above ankle-deep. They occasionally threw snowballs at each other but mostly they walked and talked, and they even attempted to build a snowman but it didn't go over well. Hermione ended up on the ground, covered in snow and laughing, while Ron helped her up and Harry and Ginny watched with laughter in their eyes.

And then a snowball hit Harry square in the back of the head, hard. He turned around sharply, his hand going up to rub his head. "Ouch," he said under his breath. Ginny gasped and he could hear Ron and Hermione come up behind them. Harry looked up and saw, not too far away, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. He grimaced and bent down to scoop up a snowball, making sure it was packed tight.

"No, Harry," whispered Hermione. "Don't. You'll get in trouble." Harry scowled and half listened to her, half ignored her. He rose with the snowball in his hand but didn't throw it.

"Potter, Granger, and the Weasleys," Malfoy said. "Out for a stroll in the snow." He sneered. "Shouldn't you be doing _homework_? To pass the OWLs?"

Hermione glared at Malfoy. "Why aren't _you _studying, then?" she asked.

"Oh, since my father is affiliated with the schools, I'll pass. I have a one hundred percent chance of passing, you know-my father will make sure of it." He chuckled and came closer, Goyle and Crabbe flanking his sides and cracking their knuckles as usual.

"Just leave us alone, okay?" said Ginny, uncomfortably, but she kept her voice steady well enough. "We don't want to talk to you." She shoved her gloved hands in her pockets.

Malfoy laughed. "I'll leave you lot alone, then..." he said, raising an eyebrows arching. Harry was unable to see the point of his bothering them, but he was angry anyway, so the moment Malfoy has his back turned he threw the snowball as hard as he could. It his Malfoy in the back of the neck. Malfoy froze for a moment.

"Harry!" Hermione hissed. Ron laughed and clapped Harry on the back.

Malfoy turned around, seething. His face was turning pink. "Potter," he said, and then when it seemed like he couldn't think of anything else to say he pivoted and stalked off. Crabbe and Goyle followed like they always did, never questioning Malfoy. Trusty sidekicks.

"I hate them," said Ginny, crossing her arms over her chest. Harry shrugged.

"They're not worth it," he said, and Ron nodded. Hermione just sighed and began walking towards the castle.

"Let's go in," she said, teeth chattering. "It's freezing out here." Everyone agreed and Harry trudged behind everyone else, already planning to put his wet socks in front of the fire to dry them faster. He sped up to catch up with Ginny.

"What do you have next?" he asked, although he already knew what class she had.

"Herbology," she said, and shuddered. "It's going to be cold in the greenhouses." Harry nodded. "But nothing even grows in the winter. I don't know why we have to study plants when nothing grows!" She sighed in exasperation and Harry kept nodding, his heart beating a little faster.

After a small moment of silence, Harry said, "Hey, d'you think that maybe-maybe you'd want to-I don't know, maybe go to the Three Broomsticks with me tomorrow? Maybe?" He stopped talking after realizing he was babbling like an idiot. He wanted to say something to redeem himself but could think of nothing to say, so he was quiet, waiting for Ginny to respond.

Ginny blushed a bright pink. They walked into the warm castle and she had her eyes on her feet, but Harry thought he saw a smile. "Well," she said, "I think I could do that." She looked up at him and he hair framed her face, and her freckles seemed to stand out more than usual, and her blush made her seem even prettier than usual. Harry grinned widely.

"Okay, cool," he said, and then didn't talk again until they got to the common room because he couldn't think of anything to say. Ginny was quiet too.


	2. Chapter 2

**II.**

The next day, during free period, Harry went up to Ginny and rubbed at his arm nervously. He'd just gotten out of Quidditch practice and had showered before he decided he was decent enough to go up to her. Ginny smiled at him. "Hey," he said, and shrugged. "You wanna go down to Hogsmeade now? Or if you're too busy, that's okay."

"No, it's okay," Ginny said, smiling. Her eyes squinted up when she smiled and it made Harry smile and feel happy. "Let's go." She grabbed her coat and they set off together, slowly easing into comfortable chatter before getting to the Three Broomsticks.

They sat at a small booth in the corner of the little pub, by a large Christmas tree decorated with floating candles. A couple fairies even fluttered through the branches, leaving golden dust on the leaves and whispers that floated throughout the pub. Harry saw Rosmerta come up to their booth and he glanced at Ginny, indicating her to order. They both got butterbeers and drank slowly. Harry found it easy to talk to her, and fun-he smiled and laughed and he was content with her, wishing he could always take refuge from the cold in a warm pub and drink warm drinks.

The bell at the door tinkled, meaning someone came in, and Harry and Ginny automatically turned towards the door out of curiosity. Draco Malfoy strode through the door, the bottom of his cloak soaked from the snow. He chose a spot near Harry and Ginny and shot them a sly glance, but it was a very brief one and Harry wondered if Malfoy had actually looked over or if it'd just been his imagination.

Ginny leaned closer to Harry and whispered so softly that Harry had to lean forward too. "Why is he here?" she said, frowning. "He's not with Crabbe or Goyle." Harry looked at Malfoy and noticed for the first time that he was, in fact, alone. Malfoy looked again at Harry and then looked up as Rosmerta approached his table.

"I don't know," Harry whispered back, shifting so that he sat against the wall, as far away from Malfoy as possible. Ginny did the same so they were still sitting directly across from each other. "But I don't think we should worry about it," he said, taking a sip of his drink. "I mean, he could just be wanting some time alone. Or something." Harry shrugged, feeling like what he'd just said was lame, as if Malfoy would never want or need alone time.

"Maybe," allowed Ginny, and then she let her hair fall over her shoulder like a curtain. Harry caught a scent of it, and it was just as he'd expected: fresh, flowery, sweet. Harry leaned a little bit closer until the table cut into his rib cage and he had to lean back. The move didn't go unnoticed; Ginny giggled a bit.

"Let's go," Harry suggested. "We could go back to the castle. It's almost time for class to start again." Harry didn't want to go to potions, which he had with Malfoy, and he just hated Snape, but he knew he had to go otherwise he'd be in more trouble than he should be in.

Ginny nodded and groaned. "I don't want to go to class," she said, and Harry nodded. They slid out of their booth and Harry shot one more glance at Malfoy, who was watching them, not even attempting to be sly. He didn't even look away when Harry looked. Harry turned and tried to ignore Malfoy sitting alone, and he led Ginny out of the crowded pub and into the cold village of Hogsmeade. Ginny wrapped her coat tighter around herself and Harry stepped closer to her, buttoning up his own coat to keep warm.

"C'mon," Ginny said lightly, taking his elbow in her hand and pulling him forward. "It's too cold to be out long." Her breath rose in front of her, freezing in little particles and then disappearing into the air as smoothly as it had appeared. Harry nodded in agreement, and his stomach did a flip at her touch. He pulled his elbow from her grip gently and then held her hand in his own, and it felt comfortable, like a puzzle piece locked in place. It even warmed him a bit, or it felt like it at least.

When they'd gotten out of the village and were walking on the narrow path that lead to the grounds, they heard crunching footsteps in the snow from behind them. Harry turned around and saw Malfoy, whose face showed alarm for the smallest second and then melted into that grin Harry knew too well.

"On a date," he said, not a question but as an acknowledgement. For some reason, it angered Harry more than it should. But he didn't answer. His free hand hovered over the pocket that held his wand. Ginny gripped his hand a little tighter and he could tell she was angry too.

"Just leave us alone, okay?" she said. "Why do you keep bothering us anyway?"

Malfoy shrugged. "Just want to keep up on the latest gossip, you know. I have a lot of people waiting for inside scoops and I need to satisfy them," he said and sneered.

Harry gripped his wand. "Shut up," he said. "Just get the hell away."

"Why should I? I have every right to be here, just like you," he said, shrugging. Harry noticed that he had his hand curled around his wand as well. "I think I'll stay and chat awhile." He shrugged. After a moment of silence he said, "You know, I never thought you two would make a great couple. Stupid red hair, freckles, poor, and a little orphan boy who hangs out with mudbloods."

Harry let go of Ginny's hand and stepped forward. Forgetting completely about his wand, he curled his hand into a fist and punched Malfoy hard in the jaw. He felt satisfied to know that Malfoy had not been expecting that; he reeled back for a second before drawing his wand and shooting spells at him. Harry was not paying attention to the words coming from Malfoy's mouth; in fact, Malfoy only had time to shout a few before Harry jerked his knee up and made contact with Malfoy, who crumpled to the ground holding his crotch. He looked back at Ginny, who looked stunned but had a smile on her face. Harry smiled back and then turned to Malfoy.

"Don't ever talk about my friends like that again," he said, pointing his wand at Malfoy, but Malfoy wasn't paying attention. He was just rolling around on the ground, groaning in pain.

Harry heard more crunching footsteps and he looked up, startled to see Professor Snape towering over him and staring down at Malfoy with something similar to disgust. He turned to Harry with clear anger. "What have you just done?" he asked, pointing to Malfoy without looking.

Harry stammered out a lame answer. "I-we were having a chat, and, um, my knee...it just...collided to Malfoy's, er, midsection, and I don't know what came over me-probably the nargles-"

"They what, Potter?" Snape raised his eyebrows and Harry knew he was going to get two weeks of detention minimum.

"Nargles, Luna Lovegood told me about them. She, um, said that they make your brain fuzzy-"

Snape cut him off. "Potter. Malfoy. In my office, now. Weasley, did you have anything to do with this?"

Both Harry and Ginny shook their heads in response and Snape told Ginny, reluctantly, to get to class before she was late. Ginny waved goodbye to Harry and began to sprint down the path towards the castle. Snape took Harry and Malfoy by the collars of their shirts and half dragged them to his office, not bothering to send them to class even though they'd be very late.


	3. Chapter 3

**III.**

Snape shoved them into his office and then disappeared with a swish of his cloak. He locked the door from the outside; Harry heard the click of the lock. He and Malfoy sat on opposite ends of the room, refusing to look at each other. Harry didn't look up when he heard Malfoy's voice.

"Remember," he said slowly, "in first year when I asked you to be my friend?"

Harry nodded, and wondered vaguely why Malfoy was bringing this up now.

"And you said no."

Obviously, thought Harry, but he just nodded.

"I got angry. I don't know why, I have plenty of friends, I guess," he said, and it seemed that he was talking more to himself than Harry. "I just don't know," he mumbled, and trailed off.

Harry was quiet, and then felt like he had to say something in order to finish what Malfoy had started. "I said no because I didn't like you. From the second I met you, which was in the robe shop in Diagon Alley. Robe fitting."

Malfoy was silent and all Harry could hear was the rustle of students or teachers walk by outside. Snape didn't return; Harry assumed he was getting Dumbledore. It was almost a relief to Harry; he knew Dumbledore would let him off easily, even though he felt a bit guilty for thinking it. Then Malfoy spoke. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I guess. I mean I guess I was kind of an ass. You didn't do anything."

Harry stared at Malfoy for the first time since entering Snape's office. "Malfoy," he said, still stunned, "you're still an ass. And you probably always will be." It surprised him how easily the words came out, as if he had been waiting to say it all along, as if finally everything was in its place because it was acknowledged that Malfoy was an ass.

Malfoy looked down and played with his shoe lace. "Yeah," he said quietly. Harry was scared, almost-he'd never seen Malfoy like this, quiet and unobtrusive. Vulnerable. Harry almost wanted to reach out and put his hand on Malfoy's shoulder, comfort him like he would comfort a frightened child. But the feeling lasted a split second and then it disappeared, replaced with dislike. The dislike was a more comfortable feeling and Harry felt more at home with it.

"You should stop being an ass," said Harry coldly. "People might actually like you then."

"It's taken me a long time to figure that out, huh?" Malfoy looked up from his shoelace. He was blushing and Harry had the sudden suspicion that Malfoy was faking or lying. But Harry couldn't see that; Malfoy was so sincere, childlike, that he had to believe that he was telling the truth.

"Yeah," said Harry, and this time his voice wasn't cold and icy.

Just then, Snape came in through the door alone, without Dumbledore. "I spoke with the headmaster, and you two have detention every Saturday from eight to ten in Mr. Filch's office. For three weeks. Starting tomorrow." Then Snape left the office and Harry got up, wanting to leave as soon as he possibly could.

Later that night while Ron, Harry, and Hermione were doing their work, Harry found himself restless. He could not write another word of his essay, or he might explode. He hadn't talked about what had happened that night in Snape's office, and now he was itching to tell Ron and Hermione. He set his quill and parchment down and looked up at Ron and Hermione. Ron was chewing the end of his quill, no doubt one of the ones made of sugar you could find in Zonko's Joke Shop, and Hermione was writing quickly in cramped handwriting, trying to get all her words down on one sheet of parchment.

"Guys," started Harry, and Ron looked up gratefully while Hermione wrote even faster, getting her thought out before she looked up.

"Yes, Harry?" Hermione said, her hair frizzier than usual. "You need to hurry, I have so much to do."

"I want to talk about what happened in Snape's office tonight. With Malfoy."

Ron perked up and looked interested; Hermione, despite her want to get back to work, looked interested as well. "What is it?" Ron asked.

Harry told them about how they waited and Malfoy seemed to realize he was being an asshole and how he seemed to want to change. Harry was mystified; but Ron and Hermione were positive that Malfoy was faking.

"He's not telling the truth," said Ron immediately after Harry had finished talking. "He just wants to get at you or get you in trouble or something." Hermione nodded.

"But I think he was being serious," Harry argued. "He was really sincere, at least his voice was, and he looked it too. He looked almost like he wanted to cry or something, which would be weird to see him cry. But he looked really serious, about how he remembered asking me to be his friend in first year."

"Harry," said Hermione in her matter-of-fact way, "when have you ever seen Malfoy sincere about something? Never. You can't be sure he's serious now because it's never happened before and it's not likely. Like Ron said, he just wants to get at you. And, keep in mind that this was said right after you kneed him in the crotch. He could just be really mad and he's probably trying to confuse you so you don't expect what's coming up next." Hermione nodded her head, as if Harry had said something to agree with her, and then she grabbed a fresh piece of parchment. She started to talk about what Malfoy could be up to and how they needed to prepare for any possibilities, because after all who knew what he could be up to? But Harry wasn't listening; he tuned her out. He hadn't expected Ron or Hermione to believe him when he said he thought Malfoy was being truly sincere. Hermione had brought up a good point, but Harry couldn't believe it. Something told him that Malfoy really was being sincere, so Harry decided that on Saturday during detention he would talk to Malfoy, see if he could find anything to prove his point.

Harry woke up to more snow on Saturday morning. He yawned and decided not to think about Malfoy until later that night. He got dressed and then went into the common room to look for Ginny. She was sitting on the floor by the fire, doodling on a bit of homework she was doing. Harry went up to her and sat down.

"Hey," she said, without looking up from the doodle. "What happened yesterday when I left?"

Harry told her about what had happened, but left out the part about Malfoy. He didn't feel like thinking about it now.

"Detention? With Filch? That seems a little harsh."

"Well, it's Snape. You know he hates me and he'll get any punishment he can find for me. Even if it means punishing his favorite student also." Harry shrugged. "But it won't be too bad, I guess..." he trailed off, knowing he was telling a lie.

Ginny snorted. "Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes. "Want to go for a walk around the lake? I need to stop doing this homework." She stood up and Harry followed suit, nodding. They grabbed their coats and went outside, shivering. Their breath hung in front of them, a continuous cloud.

Eventually Harry took Ginny's hand, and they held hands and walked and didn't talk for a while. They'd come almost full circle around the lake when Ginny said something. "Look," she said, pointing with her free hand. "It's Hagrid. With a bunch of...are those blast-ended skrewts?" She squinted and leaned forward, trying to see if they were indeed blast-ended skrewts.

Harry shuddered. "I think they are," he said. "Let's get out of here before he asks us to help carry them into his cabin. They'll set everything on fire." And then they ran, hand in hand, like children, even though they weren't too close to Hagrid's cabin. They ran until the couldn't run anymore and then they flopped down in the snow under a dead tree, their clothes soaking through. They instantly became colder but they didn't feel it, not yet.

Ginny giggled. "I hated those things," she said, referring to the blast-ended skrewts.

Harry nodded. "You have no idea how many times Ron burned his hand on them third year. He turns green when they're mentioned now, actually."

Ginny laughed and Harry felt a surge in his stomach, a surge of warmth and happiness. Adoration. He smiled back at Ginny.

When they got back inside most people had gotten up and were moving around the common room or going down to breakfast. Harry and Ginny went to breakfast with Ron and Hermione. On their way back from breakfast, Ginny and Harry hung behind, whispering and giggling together. Then Harry saw Malfoy, alone again, without Crabbe or Goyle. He pointed Malfoy out to Ginny, and then suddenly Harry felt compelled to tell her about what had really happened in Snape's office. He pulled her aside into a small alcove. They sat there while Harry explained, and Ginny reacted how he'd hoped Ron and Hermione would but didn't.

"That's really strange," she said, staring at Malfoy, who was hanging around in the middle of the corridor. "He's weird now, too," she added. "Not with Crabbe or Goyle and just hanging around with nothing to do..." She grimaced. "I don't know, it doesn't seem likely that he'll really be sincere, but it seems like he was. The other day." Harry nodded.

"I don't know what to think about it. Ron and Hermione think he's faking it, to get at me later on, but I don't know about that. I think he's really serious, he really thinks he was being an ass. Which is true, but for him to acknowledge it, you know." Harry shrugged and leaned back against the wall. He stared out the window next to him, where several people were walking slowly through the snow on the grounds, some people having snowball fights, and he even saw a few curious first or second years down with Hagrid. He secretly wished them luck and smiled to himself.

Ginny leaned back as well and stared out the window. She put her hand on Harry's shoulder. "I think it's best not to think about it until you have to," she whispered, and she started to rub his shoulder. "Just wait until eight tonight and then you can bother with it. You'll get stressed if you think about it too much, right?" Harry nodded and turned his head towards Ginny. The corners of his mouth turned up, and then he kissed her. He didn't think about it, he didn't even realize he was going to kiss her until their lips were pressed together.


	4. Chapter 4

**IV.**

They sat there and kissed and giggled for a while, until tiny Professor Flitwick came by and warned them about lingering in the halls, but he only put half his efforts into it. He hardly looked back to make sure they followed the rules before waddling off to his classroom. Harry and Ginny got up anyway though and went up to the common room holding hands. When they entered through the portrait hole and everyone who was still in the common room saw, it was like things stood still for a full ten seconds, and then they began to move again.

Gossip traveled viciously through the school, and by the time seven-thirty arrived it seemed the whole school knew that Harry Potter had kissed Ginny Weasley. Some rumors even went more into detail, but Harry didn't want to think about those, that weren't true. Ron had looked between his sister and his best friend in a sort of exasperated way, but given them an approving nod. Hermione grinned and giggled, trying to squeal a "congrats," though Harry wondered why she couldn't speak efficiently. Harry felt good, though; he felt good to be able to hold hands with Ginny while he walked and he felt good knowing that the whispers he heard when he passed people in the halls weren't about bad things (most of them, anyway), but about good things involving him and Ginny.

At ten til eight, he started towards Filch's office, but grudgingly. Ginny had offered to go with him but he'd refused, saying she should work on schoolwork, but that really wasn't the reason. He needed the time to think about Malfoy, and he knew Ginny would want him thinking about other things.

When he got into Filch's office, Malfoy was already there. Filch looked disgusting as always and in a bad mood. He had Mrs. Norris, his cat, sitting by his feet and licking her paw. A purr could be heard around the small room.

"Alright, delinquents," started Filch, "since I'm not allowed to use the chains anymore and torture you guys, I'm going to make you do work that will make you wish you were in chains, hung by your thumbs." Malfoy looked a little bit scared, and Harry felt like taking a step away from Filch. "I want you two to take these and scrub the entire women's bathroom. The one that's not used anymore. It's getting filthy." He sneered and handed them each a toothbrush. "I'll know if you use magic," he added with an oily grin on his face. "Go, get," he said. "And if you're done with that let me know. I'll give you more work to do." He chuckled grimly and then turned around, taking his cat in his arms, and walked out of his office.

Malfoy and Harry looked at each other, confused. "We just...take these? And clean?" said Malfoy, and Harry nodded. They walked together to the women's bathroom, and stood in the big room, unsure of what to do next.

"Er," said Harry, his voice echoing slightly, "I'll start with the sinks. You can do...I dunno, the toilets or something."

Malfoy looked appalled. "I'm not doing the toilets! I'm starting with the floor." And he promptly knelt down and scrubbed ferociously at the floor. Harry went over to the sinks. He started with one that had snakes carved into the metal, snakes with empty eyes and thin ribbon-tongues. He was reminded of his second year, when he'd fought the basilisk-he felt a sudden urge to say the magic words, so open the chamber again, but he didn't. He kept his mouth shut. Once he'd made his way around all the sinks and faucets, he reluctantly set towards the toilets, but he didn't complain. He was almost scared of what-or, more accurately, who-he would find in the stalls when he opened them.

And he did find someone in there when he opened the first stall. Moaning Myrtle sat, quiet for once, on the toilet seat. She looked up when she saw Harry. "Oh, Harry," she said. "I knew you were here but you didn't come to say hi to me. You never talk to me anymore."

"Yeah," said Harry, shifting uncomfortably. "Um, I just never have the time anymore, you know..." He licked his lips and shifted some more, unable to find a comfortable spot. It seemed that comfort was impossible when Moaning Myrtle was watching you. "Studying for finals," he added quickly.

"Poor, poor me," said Myrtle. "I never got to take many exams." Then she let out a blood curdling shriek and dove into the toilet, splashing Harry and flooding the area around him. Harry's shoulders slumped and he heard Draco step up behind him and laugh.

"Sucks," he said, and then he stopped laughing suddenly. "Um, sorry, I'll help you clean that up."

Harry didn't answer, just wondered why Malfoy was offering to help clean. Although, the toothbrushes didn't do much to help clean; they were just rubbing a toothbrush against a floor. But he didn't care, just kept brushing the floor with Malfoy alongside him.

They didn't know how much time had passed but by the time ten arrived, Filch stalked into the bathroom. He looked around, sneering. "Looks like this place isn't much cleaner than before," he said, and Harry wanted to argue but knew it'd be best if he didn't. "I'll see you two next week." He jerked his head towards the door and Harry and Draco got up and scrambled out, leaving the toothbrushes forgotten on the floor.

They walked together through the halls, silent, until Harry said something. "What d'you think he'll make us do next time?"

"Probably take us into the Forbidden Forest. It's as close to torture as he can get." Draco grimaced. Harry was reminded of the time he was in the Forbidden Forest on detention-he couldn't remember now why he'd gotten the detention.

"Like in first year," said Harry. "I saw Voldemort. And you ran."


	5. Chapter 5

**V.**

Malfoy shifted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Whatever," he said. "Anyone would've run if he saw that." He wouldn't look at Harry; his eyes darted everywhere but Harry.

"Well, if it weren't for the centaurs, I wouldn't have lived," he said, smiling to himself. He was not friendly with all the centaurs; only Firenze, who cared enough to help a human. Most of the centaurs hated humans.

They didn't say anything until they reached the grand staircase, where they stood awkwardly. "Um," said Harry. Draco just stared at him, then held his hand up for Harry to shake. Harry looked dumbfounded, but after a few seconds he took Draco's hand and they shook. They both recoiled quickly, though, and tried to be polite about it.

"Truce," Draco mumbled. Harry was caught off guard. He stared uncomfortably at Malfoy for a while.

"Why?" he asked.

Draco shrugged. "I...I dunno. I mean, I just don't want to fight anymore, I guess. I'm mature."

Harry fought back the urge to snort in laughter at what Draco had just said, and he managed to say "Yeah" without missing a beat,

"It's...it's kind of old. Fighting all the time."

"I guess it is. So...truce." Harry put his hands in his pockets, looked around, and then turned to walk up the staircase without looking back. He thought he heard Malfoy say "bye," but he didn't turn or say it back.

Harry thought about telling Ron and Hermione about his "truce" with Malfoy, but decided to keep it to himself. He didn't want to know what they would say if he told them he'd decided he didn't hate Malfoy, or at least didn't want to hate him. Ron would hate Malfoy till the end of time; Hermione probably would too, and Harry figured that he should go along like he'd always done. Kissing his best friend's sister was bad enough, wasn't it?

Harry spent the next few days before Christmas break wondering about Malfoy. He found that he was looking forward to his next detention, and wondered if he would be able to talk to Malfoy. He had tried last time, really; but he hadn't succeeded. In Potions and during free period, he hadn't seen Malfoy at all. Harry felt almost like he shouldn't want to see Malfoy, as if it were forbidden. Which, basically, it was.

He spent a lot of time with Ginny, too. They spent time by the lake, in front of the warm fire, in Hogsmeade, or just cuddling in the back of the common room while everyone else went about their ways. Hermione was ecstatic and Ron-well, Harry wasn't sure how Ron felt about it. He assumed that Ron at least accepted it, which was all Harry was after.

The next Saturday at eight, Harry kissed Ginny and waved at Ron and Hermione, and started towards Filch's office. It scared him how much he wanted to see Malfoy-it made him uneasy. But he pushed the thoughts to the back of his head and continued on his way, trying to think of the happy times he'd spent with Ginny.

When he got to Filch's office, Malfoy was already there, sitting in a chair and looking dejected. Harry tried to catch Malfoy's eye, but Malfoy wouldn't look up. Harry sat in a seat next to Malfoy, trying to get comfortable, but that was impossible. The chairs were made of unfinished wood, splinters poking his ass and nails threatening to scratch his legs. Filch hadn't gotten there yet; Harry wished he could do something like talk to Malfoy, but he didn't want to be the first to talk. So instead of sitting Harry stood and leaned against the wall. Better than splinters in his ass.

Filch came puffing into his office shortly. He stared angrily at Harry and Malfoy, and then went to his desk to look at some parchment with loopy writing on it. "You two are going to do some work for Hagrid," he said, sneering as if he knew what Hagrid had in store for them. "I'll walk you down to the cabin. You'll be visiting the forest tonight, I believe..." He chuckled menacingly and then crept out from behind his desk, beckoning the two to follow him out his office.

Malfoy and Harry walked a considerable distance behind Filch, so he couldn't talk to them. They both hated the sound of his voice and hated what he had to say in general. Finally Malfoy looked up from his shoes and talked.

"The forest," he said. "Just like we thought." Harry didn't miss how he said "we" instead of "I."

"Yeah," said Harry. "I saw Hagrid with some blast-ended skrewts the other day. I bet he's having us work with them. But I don't know why he'll want us in the forest."

Draco just shrugged and walked on. When they got to the forest, Hagrid was there waiting with a lantern in his hand. Harry was reminded strongly of that night four years ago, and didn't want it to be a repeat. He doubted it would be.

"How yeh doin tonight, Harry?" Hagrid asked cheerfully as they approached. He shot a glare towards Malfoy, but Malfoy didn't return the glare. He didn't even look at Hagrid.

Harry shrugged. "Okay," he said. Filch, with nothing to do, began to waddle back to the castle, mumbling to himself. Harry thought he heard something similar to Why we can't just use the chains...

"Well, tonight yer gonna help me find some, uh, some things. They ran from me. Blast-ended skrewts, mischievous little things..." Hagrid reached up a giant hand to scratch at the back of his neck. "I know yeh don't like them much, Harry, but really they're sweet creatures. They just ran away cause they was scared, y'know. So. They ran into the forest and I want you and Malfoy to find em for me. I'll be lookin too, but I'll be with Fang." He patted his dog's head tenderly. Fang was a huge dog, and looked very intimidating, but was probably the sweetest creature Harry knew. He smiled at Fang, who immediately hopped up and began licking Harry's face. "Fang! Down!" said Hagrid, and Fang resumed his post at Hagrid's side.

Harry tried to wipe drool off his shoulders and face, but didn't succeed. He sighed and left it alone. "So what do we have to do to catch them?" Harry asked.

Hagrid nodded. "Oh," he said. "You just gotta get em in this crate." He grabbed a large crate and handed one to Malfoy and one to Harry. "I also got this bag of bait-use it to get em to come to you and then they'll get right in the crate. Questions?" Malfoy and Harry both shook their heads and took their crate and a bag of bate and then they all started into the woods.


	6. Chapter 6

**VI.**

They parted when they got to the first fork in the path. "They might hide from light from yer wand, so it might not be the best idea to use it. They'll prob'ly be shootin sparks, they do that at night. It shouldn't start fires but if it does, you know what to do, right?"

Harry nodded.

"Alright, see yeh at ten." They parted and then Harry and Malfoy walked cautiously down their path. Harry lit his wand despite what Hagrid said, and felt safer with the light guiding him.

"I hate blast-ended skrewts," said Harry. Malfoy nodded in agreement. He wasn't very talkative tonight, Harry noticed. "Ron got hurt by them a lot third year. When they were part of Hagrid's, erm, lesson." He looked hopefully at Malfoy and got what he wanted: a smile. It was a cautious one, but it was a smile.

Harry first saw a blast-ended skrewt when they'd been walking for about five minutes. It scurried under a tree. "I need the bait," said Harry, and he placed a piece of unidentifiable food in one of the large crates. Behind him, Draco had found another one and was busy with that. The skrewt Harry was after carefully crept forward into the crate. Harry shut the door to the crate and smiled in victory.

The skrewt blasted fire everywhere, apparently unhappy with being captured. Harry backed up suddenly, and ran into Draco, who was busy with his skrewt-but the skrewt, alarmed, burned Draco's hand and then scurried off. Harry and Draco toppled to the ground and rolled down a short but steep hill, coming to a stop at the bottom, completely disoriented.

Draco was the first to get up. He cradled his burned hand. Harry sat up, rubbing his shoulder. He had hit it on a rock and when he pulled his hand back, he discovered he was bleeding. He wiped his bloody hand on his jeans and scrambled up off the ground.

"You okay?" Harry asked, looking pointedly at Draco's hand. Draco nodded.

"Yeah. It's just a small burn...what about your shoulder?"

Harry nodded. "It doesn't hurt," he said, although it really did hurt a little bit.

Harry looked up the hill at their abandoned crates. "We should get those," he said, and together they walked up the hill to get their crates. The skrewt in Harry's had calmed down. "Sorry," Harry said. "About making your skrewt run away."

Draco shook his head. "No," he said. "It's okay. I'll find him. Let's just go." They picked up their crates and started walking again, picking up skrewts they found and going deeper into the forest. They began to get paranoid when they heard a twig crack or leaves shuffle, but they wouldn't let it show, too embarrassed to let the other know that they were scared.

By the time that sat down to rest, they'd been walking for a little over an hour. They each had about four skrewts, and they figured they could rest a bit. They sat down on the roots of a large and leafless tree. Snow in the forest was sparse here; the trees were so close together that the snow had a hard time getting through. The layer of snow on the ground was thin, but enough to soak the bottoms of Harry's jeans.

"I hate detention." Harry's shoulders slumped and he sighed.

Draco looked to the side and almost said something, but then decided against it at the last minute and shut his mouth.

"What?" Harry asked, turning to stare curiously at Draco.

"Nothing," Draco mumbled, fidgeting with his dirt-covered shoelace. Harry could hardly see him in the darkness, but his blond hair stood out sharply in the dark. Harry focused on Draco's hair.

"No, just tell me," Harry said, getting frustrated for some reason.

"I was just going to say," said Draco, "that I'm kind of...kind of glad. That we made the truce. Or whatever." He shook his head.

Harry couldn't say anything for a few seconds, caught off guard. He was glad, too, but he didn't know that Draco felt the same way or would ever admit it. After a moment, Harry said, "Oh. Me too, actually..." He managed a smile that he didn't think Draco could see in the dark. He lit his wand and everything became brighter, and somehow the mood lifted. "It's easier now. You know."

"Crabbe and Goyle think I've gone mad," Draco said, eyes scrunching in some unrecognizable emotion. It flickered across his face and then it was gone. "Since I told them about the truce. That's why they haven't been hanging around me lately, but I don't mind it, not really. It's kind of nice not having people cower in terror as you pass. Mostly the first years do. But now everyone else just gives me weird looks, like I wasn't ever Draco, it was me and Crabbe and Goyle." He stopped suddenly as if he realized he was babbling and shouldn't go on. Harry nodded sympathetically, feeling kind of guilty for pointing Malfoy out that day he kissed Ginny for the first time. "How did your friends react?" Draco asked, looking up at Harry with childlike eyes.

It took Harry a moment to realize that Draco had expected him to tell his friends, which he hadn't. It made Harry feel guilty, like a bad friend, to his friends and to Draco. But were he and Draco friends? He didn't think so, not yet anyway. Maybe he wanted to be friends with Draco. Maybe not.

"Um," Harry stammered. "I-I actually haven't told anyone." He swallowed hard. "Yet," he added, hoping it would make it seem a bit better.

Draco looked almost disappointed, but otherwise showed no real emotion. "Oh."

"I mean, it's just like...I don't know, I tell them everything but it's weird. Since I've hated you for so long. I don't know. They wouldn't like it, I guess."

"Maybe not."

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a while. It was a silence you could feel; Harry felt it expand between them until he couldn't take it and he stood.

"We should keep looking." Draco nodded and they started together through the woods.

They walked for a few more minutes before Harry saw something he thought was a skrewt. But then, thinking again, it was much too big to be a skrewt-he peered into the bushes where the thing had disappeared and he waved Draco over. They stared at the bushes together until it emerged.

There was a centaur standing before them. It had a golden coat and a white mane and tail that stood out more than Draco's hair. He held a bow in his hands. His hair was long and cascaded over his shoulders in waves. Behind him, at least eight other centaurs emerged, all with varying coat colors: bay, black, grey, roan. Harry stared up at them, unable to move. Draco's reaction was similar, except he stepped back further until he tripped on a rock and landed on his back.


End file.
